Hi folks, I’ve been away from Sways for awhile… I recently got an old Yater & I’m wondering if any folks out there have serial number info? The board is 9 foot and change, I think its got a wood tailblock uderneath that messy repair. The shape, lam, and fin look very old to me, but the fin box? Not sure? Lemme know what you all think!!!
I was told by someone who knows these things that the letter “Y” below the label indicates that Yater himself shaped it.
Look closely at the fin box install. Unless it was a replacement/repair sort of thing, I think that sort of box (F/U) was introduced around 1970 so the board would likely not be older than that. The through the box leash loop appears fairly modern as well.
The fin itself has some gnarly UV damage but is consistent with that period. Some guys including Liddle and Yater were making their own fins in house. That one looks like it could be one of those.
This is the only sort of rough info I have. Sorry - not familiar with any sort of sequential numbering system that would be of help.
thanks John, I was thinking 70s too,as the box looked fairly modern, but I looked up that lam on Stanleys, and it seemed to be earlier, as it has the Santa Barbara Surfhop in the eye part…
the leash hole is kind of sloppy, I was thinking maybe some dude added that one later in the 80s?
Not sure about logo style. I have seen some different ones on various Yater boards over the years including the “Santa Barbara Surf Shop” (inside the ‘eye’) on fairly recent Spoons.
I’d think the originality, or lack of, regarding the fin box would be a better clue than the label.
You might check directly with the Beach House in Santa Barbara, KP’s Roundup, or Marc Andreini.
agreed about the fin box, I got thrown off by how old the fin looks, but what you said about in-house made fins makes sense
I actually just heard back from KP earlier, he says 80s? I feel like not too many LBs were made around my neck of the woods in the 70s or 80s, but maybe they were more common in Santa Barbara, especially from Yater?
well, at any rate, I’m gonna work on it soon… & get it rideable : )
I’d trust KP’s opinion on anything Liddle or Yater related. He is a knowledgable historian on anything surf related. He’s the guy who clued me in to the “Y” thing.
80’s for sure. The Wedge at the tail first became narrowed to strengthen(I assume) the fin box around this time. I think the standard was 4” for most stock boards previously. Yater made lots of longboards over and under 9’ during the 80’s . The logo isn’t much of an indicator. Santa Barbara Surf Shop goes way back. The narrow Wedge is the 80’s. The other 80’s shaper for longboards was Dewey. These two shapers did fair #’s of longboards during that time. Throw in Becker and Wayne Rich when he was using Jacobs logo in the early 90’s.
ok, I looked way back in some archives here, and I found a photo of Dale Webster on a board similar to this, and it was from the 80s, jives with this info as well
that was a clever bit of info about the tailblock, thanks for that Mickey-D!
I think after I get it up and running, I might try and revive the fin with a new hot coat or something, as it looks pretty beat… I don’t think I need to worry about any kind of historical preservation issues, as this board isn’t that old?.. wait! it’s almost 40! haha!
I do like the little hip at the tail, this thing might turn ok, I’m gonna give it a go when it’s done, even though I don’t love riding longboards…
The logo is no indicator of age. Yater used many variations over time and switched them up at will.
The finbox and leash attachment say no older than the 80s. The fin itself could be from as far back as 1970. Removable FU style fins should never be used to determine age. After all. they are removable.
Serial numbers mean little, as Yater restarted his numbering system periodically over the years.
ok, but logos can be, and often are indicators of age…, if nothing else, an older lam is sometimes thrown onto a newer board, as the lam was “there”
also, fins and fin boxes are indicators, especially when taken into context with the rest of the board & its history, if known
and serial numbers do mean something, but often only to the individual that did the numbering, so if we aren’t privy to that info, yes they don’t mean that much
Long Boards were making there way back into the line up in the mid 1980s I had Takayama 9’0” around 1980 or 1986/87 I was a fun ride for summer surf. Sold that to a friend when I traded a Painting for Hank Byzak Pure Fun Longboard that I airbrushed to look like a Balsa Board. That Board got me a lot of commissions doing other Falsa/Balsa Airbrush work. By the way if anyone sees an old PureFun longboard around Pacific Beach. It was stolen out of my friends Garage. About 28 years ago. I hope she found a happy home hanging in some Surf Bar, where grizzly old Guys swap lies about they waves they rode.
Now back to The Yater Spoon. My best guess would be Late 1980s into the 1990s
